NCAA Football – How amateur College Football really is?

On a previous article we posted at our sports betting blog, we had mentioned that the NCAA was working on some sort of contingency plan to try to keep Division I sports at an amateur level. NCAA President Mark Emmert doesn’t believe colleges should pay athletes, and he wants university leaders to help him. Emmert announced he would hold a two-day retreat with about 50 school presidents or chancellors to discuss the future of Division I sports. The meeting is scheduled for Aug. 9-10.

Perhaps the main issue here is that every day it becomes more evident that college sports are not really as amateur as the organization that rules them all would like them (or at least make us believe) to be. Perhaps the only reason why we understand college sports as amateur is because of the fact that there are two bigger and professional leagues, the NFL and the NBA, that use this 4 year program as a filter to bring out the best of the best in a yearly multimillion dollar draft. That exclusion is in appearance the mayor distinction between both. Until you consider the money factor.

Truth is, that the educational component to College Football, and by extension we could add, College Basketball, is almost a non-factor. If we semantically consider amateur back in its original classical Latin, the word meant lover. Now its understood as something that is done for the love of it, and not for money. I can

ESPN College Hoops Analysts Pass The Tool Test, Fail Eye Test

. Which would be fine if they didn’t keep screwing it up.

The bobbleheads mention the Eye Test and then they start talking about a team’s numbers and resume. They talk about the overall record, conference record, RPI, strength of schedule and their record against the RPI Top 25 or Top 50. And they line all of those numbers up in a cute little graphic that makes the numbers look like they are actually on an eye chart.

Now, all of those tools are excellent indicators of a team’s tournament worthiness and they are worth discussion on a national forum. However, they are numbers. They are records and numbers that represent the data, on paper, that the selection committee uses to determine which teams make the NCAA Tournament. And that is THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE EYE TEST!

The term

Sweet 16 College Hoops Thoughts For Wednesday

By Robert Ferringo

One thing I’m going to try to do over the next few weeks and months is give some daily recaps, some quick-hit thoughts, from the mind of a college basketball handicapper. This stuff is my life and my profession so I feel compelled to share with those of you out there that are as interested/obsessed with college basketball and college basketball betting as I am.

Now, there’s pretty much no way I will be able to do it EVERY day. But I thikn I can mix in a little more commentary and insight into the twisted mind of a college hoops addict.

So here is the first installment of Sweet 16 Thoughts In College Basketball.

(And yes, this is the same concept as the former weekly article we used to have at The Mothership that was based on the NBA.)

16. I was pretty surprised that Penn State hit the jets like they did in the second half against Iowa. It is tougher than it seems for teams like that to transition from the big underdog role

NCAA Basketball –This season’s College Basketball biggest losers

Every season before the college hoops begin we, or at least those of us really fond of NCAA college basketball, we have this tendency of getting together an assessing our favorite teams. We take into consideration not only the official rankings and polls, but also the team’s performance during the previous season and we even take a look at what the sportsbooks have to say when it comes to predicting a winner of the NCAA basketball championship.

The Big Schools in college basketball usually shine their brightest in the preseason and if they have had a great performance during March Madness and they keep on surviving in our NCAA College Hoops bracket, then there is a good chance that we have great hopes for them during this season. But sometimes they tend to be a disappointment. This is a quick review of the most notable college hoops underachievers so far this season.

Heading this list is no other than Michigan State. The Spartans where the No.2 seed before the season started. Now, a couple of months into the season, the squad is not even ranked, and even thought they still have a chance of making it into March Madness, there is a very good chance that the Spartans might not make it into the NCAA Tournament. What’s wrong? Well, for starters they have recently taken a couple of bad losses. They lost to Iowa and Wisconsin by a combined 46 points, which is just simply an utter disappointment considering this is a squad that has come off two consecutive Final Fours. Tom Izzo really should start thinking about what his squad has to do to right this sinking ship.

Of course we couldn’t continue the list without mentioning the guys from Kansas State. Here’s the catch: the No. 3 ranked team before the season kickoff is now unranked and holds a mediocre 16-8 record overall and 4-5 mark in the Big 12. The squad has not have a good win since Thanksgiving and as if that was not enough, the team’s off the court shenanigans has brought them a couple of suspensions for their starters. Jacob Pullen was suspended by 3 games while Curtis Kelly took a 6-game suspension for violating NCAA rules. Just to keep on pilling the great news, Wally Judge, a sophomore for whom there where fairly high hopes just recently quitted the team. Some believe that they could still make it into the NCAA Tournament. They might as well just give another team a chance at the March Madness.

Last but not least of an underperformer we have Gonzaga. At the beginning of the regular season, Gonzaga was ranked as the No. 12 team in the Nation. The West Coast Conference team now holds a 15-9 record overall and a 5-3 record in conference play. The Bulldogs have managed to achieve a couple of decent non-conference wins against teams such as Marquette, Baylor and Xavier. But things have looked very bleak ever since the 2011 kicked in. It really looks like if the Gonzaga Bulldogs want to get a part of the pie and play with the big boys in March, they must win the West Coast Conference to get a bid. If things keep on looking like they have, it will probably be the first time since the new millennium that Gonzaga fails to win its league.

2010-11 College Bowl Odds And Totals Released

By Robert Ferringo

We’ve got numbers.

The bowl roster has been laid out for just a few days and now we’ve finally paired them up with spreads and totals to pour over for the next few weeks. The BCS spreads came out Monday morning

2010-11 Big Ten College Basketball Conference Title Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the Big Ten Conference regular season title. Wager is on team to win conference listed. Tiebreaker is team who gets lower seed (1 seed is lowest) in conference tournament is winning wager.

Below the college basketball odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Indiana

2010-11 NCAA College Basketball Championship Futures Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the 2010-11 College Basketball National Championship. Below the odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Alabama

2010-11 Pac-10 College Basketball Conference Championship Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the Pacific 10 Conference regular season title. Wager is on team to win conference listed. Tiebreaker is team who gets lower seed (1 seed is lowest) in conference tournament is winning wager.

Below the college basketball odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Arizona

2010-11 Big 12 College Basketball Conference Championship Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the Big 12 Conference. Wager is on team to win conference listed. Tiebreaker is team who gets lower seed (1 seed is lowest) in conference tournament is winning wager.

Below the college basketball odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Baylor

2010-11 ACC College Basketball Conference Title Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title this year. Wager is on team to win conference listed. Tiebreaker is team who gets lower seed (1 seed is lowest) in conference tournament is winning wager.

Below the college basketball odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Boston College

2010-11 SEC College Basketball Conference Title Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the SEC East regular season title. Wager is on team to win conference listed. Tiebreaker is team who gets lower seed (1 seed is lowest) in conference tournament is winning wager.
Below the college basketball odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Florida

2010-11 Big East College Basketball Conference Title Odds

By Robert Ferringo

Here are the odds to win the Big East regular season title. Wager is on team to win conference listed. Tiebreaker is team who gets lower seed (1 seed is lowest) in conference tournament is winning wager

Below the college basketball odds I have some predictions, recommendations, or suggestions - whatever you want to call them - on how to wager this futures bet. Enjoy.

Connecticut

College Basketball Review: Navy-Texas Random Thoughts

By Robert Ferringo

I just finished re-watching the Navy-Texas game from Monday night. It’s always good to get that second viewing to really hone in on the specifics of how things are rolling. I know it is only one game, against an inferior opponent, but here are some snap thoughts about the Longhorns:

- I think that this team is going to have a lot of the same issues that it had last year. That’s to say that this will be a pretty good team this year. They’ll hang around the Top 25, flirt with being in the Big 12 race, make the NCAA Tournament but not survive the opening weekend. I think that’s the ceiling for this team for a variety of reasons. They have the potential and certainly the talent to surprise me. But they have a long way to go - particularly learning to play together - before they can tap that potential.

- First, the most important player on this team is Jordan Hamilton. If he is aggressive on offense

Eligible 2010-2011 College Basketball Transfers

By Robert Ferringo

I have long contended that freshmen, all freshmen, are overrated in college basketball. However, a well-situated transfer can have a bigger impact because their appearance (or absence) isn’t always calculated into the lines by the oddsmakers and isn’t always as quickly reacted to by the books. Further, a player that has already been proven on the college stage is a lot easier to handicap than an inconsistent, overrated (or both) freshman.

This year there are several transfers that I think can step in and have a big impact. The entire Boston University team will be built out of transfers, essentially. Greg Echenique should tear up the Missouri Valley. And guys like Alex Legion, Olek Czyz, and Juan Pattillo are going from contributing on winning major programs to weaker mid-major leagues that they should tear up.

Regardless, don’t forget to factor key transfers into you preseason college basketball handicapping. Here is a list of transfers that will be eligible at some point this season, and next week I will have a list of guys who have transferred this year but won’t be ready until next season (but their absence will still impact this year):

Name             Pos     Ht/Wt   Year  To              From
Quincy Diggs       F    6-6/195   So   Akron           New Orleans
Charles Hinkle   G/F    6-5/210   Jr   American        Vanderbilt
Troy Brewer       SG    6-5/175   Jr   American        Georgia
Anthony Breeze     F    6-5/230   Jr   Appalachian St. Coastal Carolina
Omar Carter        F    6-5/220   Jr   Appalachian St. Char. Southern
Alex English       C   6-10/235   Jr   Arizona St.     Colgate
Jeff Peterson     PG    6-0/192   Jr   Arkansas        Iowa
Malcoln Kirkland  PF    6-8/230   Jr   Arkansas St.    Oklahoma St.
Dusty Mills        G    5-7/160   Jr   Ball St.        Kentucky
Chris Kurz         F    6-8/210   So   Boston U.       Arizona St.
Darryl Partin      G    6-6/190   Jr   Boston U.       La Salle
Matt Griffin       G   5-10/180   Jr   Boston U.       Rider
Patrick Hazel      F    6-6/220   Jr   Boston U.       Marquette
Frankie Dobbs      G    6-3/185   So   Bryant          Ohio
Chris O’Brien      G    6-4/205   So   Cal Poly        San Francisco
Drake U’u          G    6-5/210   So   Cal Poly        Hartford
Andre Hardy        F    6-6/230   Jr   CS Fullerton    Oral Roberts
Bryce Smith        G    6-5/205   So   CS Northridge   San Diego St.
Keishawn Mayes     F    6-7/225   Jr   Campbell        Md. Eastern Shore
Gaby Belardo       G    6-2/180   So   Canisius        South Florida
Terry Tidwell      F    6-8/230   So   Central Ark.    Ark. Pine Bluff
Tom Herzog         C    7-0/250   Sr   Central Florida Michigan St.
Jamar Briscoe     PG   5-10/165   So   Charlotte       NC Central
Omar Wattad        F    6-5/225   Jr   Chattanooga     Georgetown
Mike Holmes       PF    6-7/230   Sr   C. Carolina     South Carolina
Anthony Raffa      G    6-0/165   So   C. Carolina     Albany
Wes Eikmeier      SG    6-3/175   So   Colorado St.    Iowa St.
Greg Echenique    PF    6-9/260   So   Creighton       Rutgers
Clint Mann         F    6-8/222   So   Davidson        Iowa St.
Josh Parker       PG    6-0/186   Jr   Dayton          Drake
Trevor Noonan      C    6-9/225   Jr   Denver          Air Force
LaMarcus Lowe    F/C   6-11/200   So   Detroit         Western Michigan
Jordan Clarke     SF    6-8/243   So   Drake           Vermont
Kraidon Woods     SF    6-8/200   Jr   Drake           Binghamton
Seth Curry        PG    6-1/175   So   Duke            Liberty
Devin McDonald     G    6-0/185   Sr   E. Kentucky     New Orleans
Kore White         F    6-8/245   So   Fla. Atlantic   Marshall
Kevin Cantinol     C    6-9/250   Jr   Fla. Gulf Coast Mississippi
Alex Legion       SG    6-5/200   Sr   Fla. Int’l      Illinois
Brandon Moore      F   6-10/207   So   Fla. Int’l      Arkansas
Jeremy Allen       G    6-4/186   Jr   Fla. Int’l      Central Michigan
Jonathan Wills    SG    6-6/180   Jr   Fresno St.      New Mexico
Gerald Robinson   PG    6-1/165   Jr   Georgia         Tennessee St.
Zane Johnson      SG    6-6/210   Jr   Hawaii          Arizona
Mike Moore         G    6-5/195   Jr   Hofstra         Fordham
Trumaine Johnson   G    6-2/180   Jr   Houston         San Diego
Lamar Thomas       F    6-9/205   So   Houston Baptist Fordham
Paul Carter       PF    6-8/203   Sr   Ill. Chicago    Minnesota
Trey Blue         SG    6-3/200   So   Illinois St.    Fordham
Darion Anderson   SG    6-2/205   Sr   Iowa St.        Northern Illinois
Stephen Thomas     G    6-1/170   Jr   IUPUI           Dayton
Earl Pettis        G    6-5/240   Jr   La Salle        Rutgers
C.J. Garner        G   5-10/160   So   Long Island     South Alabama
David Perez        G    6-3/190   Jr   La. Lafayette   Centenary
Fred Brown        SG    6-2/190   Jr   La. Monroe      Kansas St.
Malcolm White     PF    6-9/225   Jr   Louisiana St.   Mississippi
Chris Smith        G    6-2/200   Jr   Louisville      Manhattan
Demetrius Jemison PF    6-8/240   Sr   Manhattan       Alabama
Eladio Espinosa   PF    6-7/220   So   Marshall        South Florida
Johnny Thomas     SF    6-6/205   Jr   Marshall        North Carolina St.
Travis King       PG    6-2/215   Sr   UMBC            George Washington
Charles Carmouche SG    6-2/175   Jr   Memphis         New Orleans
Cookie Miller     PG    5-7/165   Jr   Miami OH        Nebraska
Jordan Dumars     PG    6-5/220   Jr   Michigan        South Florida
Jason Jones      F/G    6-6/200   So   Middle Tenn.    Texas El Paso
Jimmy Oden         G    6-3/188   Jr   Middle Tenn.    Lipscomb
Nick Williams     SG    6-4/225   So   Mississippi     Indiana
Reggie Chamberlain G    6-0/170   Jr   UMKC            Wichita St.
Dion Nesmith       G    6-0/185   So   Monmouth        Northeastern
Phil Wait          C    7-1/250   So   Monmouth        St. John’s
Drew Kelly         F    6-7/253   Fr   Morehead St.    Miami OH
Kamyron Brown     PG    6-2/180   Jr   Nebraska        Oregon
Malik Story       SG    6-5/225   So   Nevada          Indiana
Olek Czyz         PF    6-7/240   So   Nevada          Duke
Quintrell Thomas  PF    6-8/245   So   UNLV            Kansas
Drew Gordon       PF    6-9/245   Jr   New Mexico      UCLA
Emmanuel Negedu   PF    6-7/220   So   New Mexico      Tennessee
Kevon Moore        G    6-3/185   Jr   Niagara         NC Wilmington
Justin Knox       PF    6-9/240   Sr   North Carolina  Alabama
Justin Leemow     PG    6-1/175   Jr   NC Central      South Florida
Landon Clement    SG    6-2/180   Jr   NC Central      NC Greensboro
Josh Snodgrass     G    6-4/220   Fr   North Florida   American
Parker Smith       G    6-3/150   So   North Florida   Tennessee St.
Reggie Hamilton   PG   5-11/175   Jr   Oakland         UMKC
Alex Kellogg      PF    6-7/225   Jr   Ohio            Providence
Barry Honore      PF    6-7/270   Jr   Oklahoma        Southern
Carl Blair        PG    6-3/205   So   Oklahoma        New Orleans
Nate Lozeau        C   6-10/270   Jr   Portland St.    San Diego
DeShawn Mitchell   G    6-5/205   So   Rider           UNLV
Femi Akinpetide    F    6-6/220   So   Sacred Heart    UMKC
Chris Gabriel      C   6-10/260   So   San Diego       New Mexico St.
James Rahon       SG    6-5/202   So   San Diego St.   Santa Clara
Mark McLaughlin   SG    6-6/200   Fr   Seattle         Baylor
Eniel Polynice     G    6-5/220   Sr   Seton Hall      Mississippi
Brandon Walters   PF    6-9/246   Jr   Siena           Seton Hall
Malik Cooke       SF    6-6/210   Jr   South Carolina  Nevada
Ron Anderson      PF    6-8/255   Jr   South Florida   Kansas St.
Jio Fontan        PG    6-0/185   So   Southern Cal    Fordham
Diamond Taylor    SG    6-4/175   Fr   Southern Ill.   Wisconsin
Mike Davis         C   6-11/255   Jr   St. Francis NY  Seton Hall
Kenton Walker II   F    6-9/235   Jr   St. Mary’s      Creighton
Blaise Ffrench     G    6-1/185   So   St. Peter’s     Texas El Paso
Jeronne Maymon    PF    6-6/240   So   Tennessee       Marquette
John Fields       PF    6-9/230   Sr   Tennessee       NC Wilmington
Matt Marseille     F    6-5/205   So   Tennessee Tech  Centenary
Zac Swansey        G    6-1/180   Jr   Tennessee Tech  Georgia
Liam McMorrow      C    7-0/260   So   Tennessee Tech  Marquette
Hank Thorns       PG    5-9/160   Jr   Texas Christian Virginia Tech
Brandon Provost    G    6-3/189   So   Tx Pan American Air Force
Ivory McGilvery    G    6-0/200   Jr   Tx Pan American Prairie View A&M
Perry Petty        G    6-1/180   Jr   Tx Pan American Santa Clara
Garland Judkins   SF    6-3/195   Jr   Tx San Antonio  Arizona
Harrison Smith     G    6-3/205   Sr   Texas Southern  Texas
Kevin Galloway     F    6-7/215   Sr   Texas Southern  Kentucky
A.J. Stewart       F    6-9/240   Jr   Texas St.       Kentucky
Matt Staff        PF    6-9/220   So   Texas St.       New Mexico
Anthony Wright    SF    6-6/235   Sr   Toledo          Michigan
Braxton Dupree    PF    6-8/260   Jr   Towson          Maryland
DeAndrae Ross      G    6-2/175   Jr   Troy            South Alabama
Flynn Cayman       F    6-8/212   Jr   Troy            Colorado St.
Will Weathers      G    6-0/165   So   Troy            Central Florida
D.J. Magley       PF    6-9/255   Jr   Tulsa           Western Kentucky
Scottie Haralson  SG    6-4/220   So   Tulsa           Connecticut
Eddie Miller       G    6-5/205   Jr   UC Davis        California
Daman Starring     G    6-4/190   So   UC Irvine       Centenary
Morgan Grim        F    6-8/220   Jr   Utah St.        Utah
Matt Glass         F    6-8/210   Jr   Vermont         Massachusetts
Allan Chaney      PF    6-9/235   So   Virginia Tech   Florida
Nikita Meshcharakov  PF 6-7/215   Jr   Wake Forest     Georgetown
B.J. Porter        G    6-3/190   So   Weber St.       Portland
Juan Pattillo     SF    6-6/215   Sr   W. Kentucky     Oklahoma
Teeng Akol        PF   6-11/230   So   W. Kentucky     Oklahoma St.
Christian Wolf     F    6-9/250   So   Wis. Milwaukee  Florida Gulf Coast
Mitchell Carter    C   6-10/270   Jr   Wis. Milwaukee  South Carolina
Johann Mpondo      F    6-8/230   Jr   Wright State    New Orleans
James Dean         G    6-2/185   So   Wyoming         Wis. Milwaukee
Damian Eargle      F    6-7/215   So   Youngstown St.  NC Greensboro

Robert Ferringo is a writer and a professional sports handicapper for Doc’s Sports. He has banked nearly $30,000 in profit for his $100-per-Unit bettors (and nearly $300,000 in profit for his dime bettors) with his nonconference picks over the last four years. He is considered one of the best college basketball cappers in the country and is set for his best year yet. You can sign up for his college basketball picks and get more information here.

Posted at 10:52 am

US College football Thursday night preview: Auburn look the bet of the weekend

10:37pm 8 Sep 2010 Hirvonen can secure third victory in Rally Japan 10:16pm 8 Sep 2010 Defoe sets England on the way 11:10am 4 Sep 2010 Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Show All Current Stories LATEST STORIES 10:37pm 8 Sep 2010 Hirvonen can secure third victory in Rally Japan 10:16pm 8 Sep 2010 England 9-1 to secure a Euro triumph 3:48pm 8 Sep 2010 Haye huge favourite for Harrison clash 4:35pm 7 Sep 2010 Woods 4-5 to be top-scoring wild-card 4:07pm 7 Sep 2010 Federer 13-8 after easy passage to fourth round 2:33pm 5 Sep 2010 Defoe sets England on the way 11:10am 4 Sep 2010 Murphy 7-4 to get Premier League defence off to flyer 6:33pm 1 Sep 2010 Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Show All Current Stories FOOTBALL England 9-1 to secure a Euro triumph 3:48pm 8 Sep 2010 Spurs drift for top four finish after Latics loss 11:53pm 28 Aug 2010 Defoe sets England on the way 11:10am 4 Sep 2010 GOLF Woods 4-5 to be top-scoring wild-card 4:07pm 7 Sep 2010 WORLD CUP NEWS Post delivers the verdict 1:34pm 14 Jul 2010 TENNIS Federer 13-8 after easy passage to fourth round 2:33pm 5 Sep 2010 Federer cut to 9-4 to regain US Open title 2:00pm 28 Aug 2010 Federer 12-1 for Grand Slam after fourth Aussie win 11:39am 31 Jan 2010 Serena shakes off Henin to land fifth Aussie Open 2:01pm 30 Jan 2010 RUGBY Wolves retain Challenge Cup in style 6:10am 29 Aug 2010 Rhinos land Grand Final hat-trick 8:46pm 10 Oct 2009 OTHER SPORTS 10:37pm 8 Sep 2010 Hirvonen can secure third victory in Rally Japan 10:16pm 8 Sep 2010 Hamilton new F1 title favourite 6:34pm 29 Aug 2010 Contador evens to win 2011 title 6:19pm 25 Jul 2010 Murphy 7-4 to get Premier League defence off to flyer 6:33pm 1 Sep 2010 Taylor 9-2 to take title haul to 20 2:49pm 4 Jan 2010 Schumacher makes F1 return with Mercedes 12:19pm 23 Dec 2009 Rage set to give Joe a run for his money 5:06pm 16 Dec 2009 Haye camp unimpressed with Klitschko defence 2:58pm 13 Dec 2009 Khan odds-on to beat Hatton after Salita win 12:13pm 6 Dec 2009 Show All Current Stories BOXING Haye huge favourite for Harrison clash 4:35pm 7 Sep 2010 Search our News Archive Sport News RSS Feed All Racing Post RSS Feeds Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Download our iPhone app